Relocation to Arizona

Are you considering moving to Arizona? If you are looking for information on the area, and help with your move to Arizona then allow us to guide you. We will provide you with up to 10 free and personalised quotes from experienced moving companies who will safely transport your possessions from door to door, inter-state or internationally.

Arizona, the 6th largest state, is located in the south west of the US, bordering the US states of California, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico (the only area in the US where four states share a border with each other, known as the Four Corners point) and sharing an international border with Mexico to the south. Arizona is well known for its desert climate but, due to the changes in altitude between the desert and mountain areas, it has some of the most extreme temperatures of any state in the US being home to some of both the hottest and coldest cities in the country! The North of the state, mostly mountainous, has a colder climate. The lower desert areas on the other hand have much milder winters and can experience temperatures reaching 120 F in the summer.

Infrastructure / Job Prospects

If you are are interested in moving to Arizona for work, although by no means the biggest economy taken individually, the state has a larger economy than several western European countries, including Ireland, and the state has below average unemployment figures.

The state originally relied on it’s cotton and copper industries, having once been the largest cotton producing state in the US, and being well known for its large Copper mining industry. Indeed, Arizona’s copper industry still commands around two thirds of all production in the US today.

Today the balance of employment has changed. Over 95% of employers are classed as small businesses and around 10% of the state is employed by high-tech industries, although the largest employment sector is the retail trade with over 250,000 employees. The largest single employer in the private sector is currently Walmart, with over 15000 employees in Arizona.

The period between 2000 and 2005 saw over 200,000 immigrants move to Arizona from international locations, and over 500,000 move from other US states.

Arizona has taken a new approach to attracting investment and has focused on several industry clusters in order to attract international trade and inward investment. Clusters are networks of companies, linked by both geographic and business factors, focused on a single business area. Arizona is targeting Aerospace, Information Technology, Bio-Tech and Environmental technologies among others.

Arizona has been used as a film location by many westerns and several famous films have been based in the state, most notably Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.

Living cost and Taxes

If you are intending moving to Arizona from elsewhere in the US, you will find that the state’s low cost of living will afford you a much larger disposable income. The cost of living in Phoenix is around 50% less than other major cities, such as New York or San Francisco, and although your resulting wage after moving to Arizona would be around 15 вЂ“ 20% less you would still have around 30% more disposable income, and therefore enjoy a much better standard of living after moving to Arizona!

All Arizona residents are subject to a personal income tax of between 2.87% and 5% with the lowest rate for those earning under $10,000 and the highest bracket for those who earn over $150,000 per year..

The sales tax rates for the state are around 6 or 7%, with various exemptions for instance for food and medical supplies. There are also additional taxes on sales in certain areas of up to 3%

Major airports

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is the largest airport in Arizona, one of the top 10 US airports in terms of both air traffic and passenger throughput. It is also one of the biggest airports in the world in terms of geographic size due to its non-crossing runway layout. The airport serves over 40 million passengers a year and around 1500 aircraft a day.

Arizona is also home to the Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCP), located only a few miles from the Grand Canyon, which supports the tourist industry by providing scenic flights as well as a regular scheduled service directly to the state’s national park area from other US cities including Las Vegas.

Other important airports include Tucson, the state’s second largest airport, serving around 4 million passengers every year, and Phoneix-Mesa Gateway (AZA), which has recently been designated as a secondary airport in order to help deal with the substantial traffic increases seen by Sky Harbor recently.

Important Cities and Population Density

Arizona’s total population is now believed to be over 6 million (around 5.9 million in 2005) and grew over 15% between 2000 and 2005, equivalent to over 400 people moving to Arizona a day. The state covers an area over 110,000 square miles in size, with a large portion of the population location being located in the South West regional area.

Arizona’s capital city, Phoenix, is also the state’s largest and the 5th largest in the US. Located in the South West of the state, it is around 150 miles from the border of California and Mexico’s Sonora region. The total population in the Phoenix metropolitan area is approaching 4 million and unusually, subsumes Mesa, the state’s third largest city.

Tucson, home to the campus of the University of Arizona, is the second largest city in the state, with a population of over 500,000.

Arizona is also home to one of the US’s highest cities, Flagstaff, at an elevation of nearly 7000 feet and home to Humphreys Peak, which at over 12600 feet is the highest point in the state.

Arizona Facts

The origin of the states name is not certain and is the source of much academic debate. Currently it is most widely believed to be derived from a Spanish (Basque) word meaning вЂњGood OakвЂќ, although several alternative theories still abound!

Arizona was the 48th state to join the union.

Over 20% of the state’s residents are Mexican and nearly 20% speak Spanish, making Arizona one of the more multi-lingual states in the union. It is also home to the Navajo Indian Reservation and has the largest amount of land set aside to Indian land and reservations of any state.

The tourist industry is extremely important to Arizona and the state holds the major tourist attraction of the Grand Canyon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and its surrounding national park. Other important tourist attractions include the Petrified Forest and the Colorado River.

Arizona is home to the original London Bridge, which now resides in Lake Havasu City.

Arizona is one of the fastest growing states in the US, with a net immigration of over 500,000 from other US states, and over 200,000 moving to Arizona from other countries.

If you are looking at moving to Arizona, we would recommend you fill out the free estimate form which will allow you to specify the details of your move, and any special items such as vehicles, for which specialist shipping can be arranged. We will provide you with up to ten free, personalised quotes from pre-screened inter-state and international moving companies.